Rena's Secret
by justforfum
Summary: Rena often runs off on her own and the rest of the group is starting to wonder why. Is it really worth their lives to find out, though?


**Disclaimer: I do not own Elsword or the characters in the game.**

* * *

He wanted to rip her tongue out and feed it to the phorus. Who does she think she is always trying to one up him whenever they finish a job?

"Oh, look at me~, I'm Aisha~ I can use magic that takes a day and a half to charge because they're so powerful and require soooo much mana. So much better than stupid Elsword who's always watching my back and taking shots for me so I can save the day~ Hah!" he shouted at the girl held at arm's length away from him.

"At least you got the fact that you're stupid right! I can handle this all by myself. You're just getting in my way all the time!" the mage retorted.

"Enough!" Rena shouted, still standing between the two. They both kicked and flailed in midair as the elf held both of them apart. The elf set the girl down first then turned to face Elsword.

"Elsword, you shouldn't speak to a girl like that. Just because she can't fight like you doesn't make her any less of a team member. It's your job as a growing young man to look after others and protect them so don't go around complaining about doing what you're supposed to do."

The redhead leaned to the side and he could see the purple-headed mage snickering behind Rena's green locks.

"And _you_ young lady!" Rena said, spinning on her heels to face the mage who straightened up in attention. "You're a young woman, start acting like one! Learn some restraint and be considerate of the things people do for you. Honestly you're acting like a spoiled child who takes the things she has for granted. What if Elsword wasn't there to defend you? You'd be dead and you know it!"

Aisha rolled her eyes and that only fanned the flames in Rena's eyes. "Don't you dare roll your eyes at me, little lady!"

She continued to scold Aisha as Elsword watched in the background. In his mind he was glad that Rena decided to join. With Aisha around, it was just too much for him to handle. Who in their right mind would want such a cocky tomboyish girl around berating you? Rena was the moderator. Without her, Aisha would have left the group long ago. Or rather, Elsword would have left her long ago. He just wished Aisha was more like Rena: kind, mature, and well-rounded in the chest area.

He sighed as he swam in his teenage fantasies.

"Honestly," Rena exhaled in exhaustion, "If this is how it's going to be like with you two I should've just hunted Banthus by myself since day one! Set up camp you two. I'm going to take a break."

"Where are you going?" Elsword asked as the Elf made her way towards the brush.

"Just taking a breather~" Rena said with a wave, "I'll be back in a few. Just set up camp."

"O… okay. Wonder where she's running off to," Elsword mumbled, moving to his camping gear and untying the tent. Aisha was sneering at him.

"She's stressed out because of you, you know."

They started arguing once more.

* * *

"Yay! Finally a bed!" Aisha cried, flopping onto the soft mattress and cuddling the pillow.

"It feels so good to have a roof over our heads for once," Elsword muttered, falling onto the chair as the stress of the day's traveling finally came crashing down on him.

"Mhm~" Aisha agreed, squeezing the pillow and kicking off her boots.

Elsword lazily turned his head towards Raven. "Well? Go on, choose whatever bed you want. I just want to sit here for a bit longer."

The mercenary looked between the two as distrust burned in his eyes. "You're foolishly welcoming to someone you just fought against. How do I know I won't slit your throat the moment you let your guard down?"

"Because I wouldn't let you," the elf said, standing behind him. She gave him a playful jab on his ribs. "You can drop the tough guy act, Raven. You know as well as I do we all would rather just get some rest before our big trip to Altera. You have a bone to pick with those Nasods? We can help. Just relax, alright? All that stress is only going to put wrinkles on that handsome face of yours." She said this while tracing a finger over his jawline before disappearing behind him again with a flick of her hair.

"You three get settled. I'll be right back," Rena said with a wave as she exited the room.

"Where are you going?" Raven asked.

"Just outside~ Us elves don't require as much sleep so I thought I'd explore the town for a little bit-"

"I'll come with you," the mercenary insisted.

"No~ No. You just relax. I'll only be a few~" with that the sound of the elf's footsteps could be heard descending the steps.

They were silent for a while before Aisha broke the silence. "She does that a lot," she said, talking into the pillow she was hugging.

"So I've noticed. This is the third time now since I've joined you this afternoon. Where does she go?" Raven asked.

"We dunno," the young knight said dismissively with a shrug, "We usually just let her do her thing. Probably meditating or some kind of ancient elven ritual or something."

"Or she could just be buying groceries," the mage added.

"Have you ever tried following her?"

Both vehemently shook their heads as they both answered "No."

"You won't like her when she's angry," Aisha warned.

"She becomes this green monster," Elsword agreed, "It's better you just leave her be."

Still, Raven couldn't help but wonder as he stared off at the hallway.

* * *

"Hold him down!" Rena ordered as Chung and Elsword threw themselves on Raven who cried out in pain as his arm literally tried to sever itself from his body. The young prince gripped the arm by its wrist and slammed it forcefully to the wooden flooring of the inn, resting his knee on the palm as the claws tried to dig its way into the prince's armor. Elsword held him by the shoulder, the two boys keeping the arm stretched out to prevent it from squirming.

Rena turned to the little Nasod as she stared at the pinned mercenary from a safe distance. "Eve, honey, you said you can fix him, right? This is about as good as it gets. He's only going to get worse the longer we wait."

Raven screamed as the bolts on his arm began to bend under the pressure of the gears threatening to dislocate from him.

"I can try," the little Nasod said as she tentatively approached the pile of bodies. "Moby?" she turned to the black drone who phased in a sonic screwdriver. "Remy?" The white drone flew towards the arm, engaging a tiny cutting laser that began welding its way through the Nasod plating.

Aisha hovered behind Rena, watching the supposed Queen of Nasods work her magic while the boys did their best to hold him down. An hour passed before the struggling died completely and the arm was nothing but a docile machine once again under Raven's command.

"Alterations complete. How do you feel, human?" Eve asked as the last of the plating was welded shut.

"Well," Raven asked, still breathing heavily under Elsword's weight, "I don't feel like I'm dying so I suppose that's a good sign." The boys tentatively let Raven back on his feet, half expecting the arm to go haywire again but surprisingly it didn't, instead it rested calmly at Raven's side, completely under control.

The entire room exhaled as Rena fell back on her chair. "I thought we'd lose you there," the elf mumbled, wiping a tear from her eye.

The mercenary gave her a soft smile. "Please. After what I've been through, it'd be an embarrassment to let something as small as this kill me. I'm tougher than that."

"I know you are…" Rena sighed. She stood and approached him, reaching out to the mechanical arm slowly. It moved, rising to meet hers, its claws intertwining gently with her fingers. The two of them looked at each other for a long moment as relief fully washed over the elf.

Rena blinked and looked around. Everyone was staring at them. Aisha was at the back gnawing anxiously at the bat wings at her wand while Chung and Elsword stared wide-eyed as if waiting for something to happen. Eve? Well, she always stared.

Rena chuckled, brushing her locks away from her green eyes. She leaned closer to the mercenary and whispered, "We probably have to put this moment on hold."

Raven nodded. "I can wait."

The green-haired woman winked at him and turned to the rest. "Alright, everyone show's over. You can all start preparing for bed now~"

The entire room looked on in disappointment as the younger members of the group started unpacking their things for the night.

"As for me-" Rena started.

"You're going, again?" Raven finished.

"Mhm~ I'll be a little while, everyone~" Rena said, exiting the room as the rest of the members silently prepared for the good night's rest.

Everyone quietly went about their business preparing their beds when Chung was the first to speak, "Has… anyone ever wondered…"

"Yes," the rest of the group except Eve responded.

"What does she do?" the youngest of the group asked.

"We don't know," Aisha, Elsword, and Raven answered.

"You know what?" the redhead said finally, "I'm gonna check!"

Aisha and Raven looked at him as if he were crazy.

Elsword groaned, "C'mon. I know you guys are curious! She does this at least ten times a day! I'm going to go look!"

"You shouldn't spy on women like that," Aisha warned.

"But you want to know, too, don't you?" the boy argued. The mage merely averted her eyes.

"It's your funeral," Raven shrugged.

"You're coming with me!" the knight said, grabbing Aisha by the hand and pulling her.

"What?! Why me?" she shouted though did little to protest as her hand gripped his.

"You can sort of fly! It'll be easier with you searching for her up above!"

"Let us know what you find," Raven said, moving to lay on his bed.

The two exited the inn and immediately began scouring the streets. Checking the immediate vicinity of the Pongo inn garnered no results as Rena was nowhere to be found. The widened their search, scouting high and low the vast cave system that made up the Pongo town.

Elsword eventually left the cave system and found himself out in the floating island's wasteland. A strong breeze blew against him as he caught the scent of something in the wind. Like a hound he followed the scent out of the cave towards a secluded area of brush. A faint light could be seen in the middle of it. It was very faint; like a firefly in the grass. Had he blinked, he would've missed it. In the moonlight, he saw the barely noticeable shine of long hair just peeking out behind a tree. It was Rena!

She didn't seem like she was in trouble. Instead she seemed... relaxed. He could hear her sighing to herself. But what was she doing out here… all alone… with no one around…?

His mind flew to the gutter. Of course with all the people constantly around he, himself had to find time to himself. But never would he think Rena… After all, ten times a day?!

He suddenly found himself standing right on the other side of the tree, lips quivering as his teenage fantasies flew in multiple directions.

"R-rena?"

The elf's ears twitched at the sound of her name and the she snapped her head around, the look of bewilderment splayed across her face.

Panic hit the young man as he immediately covered his eyes. "Sorry!" he said. "Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry!" He shouted several times over and he continued this as he heard shuffling and footsteps approach him.

At some point during his apology train Rena grabbed him by the collar, pulling him close. Was this it? Was he going to die? He kept his eyes shut, listening, waiting for an arrow shaft to be shoved into his chest.

Instead he heard her inhale then exhale. The familiar scent filled his lungs as he coughed from the intake of smoke. He opened his eyes. Slowly at first then lowered his arms as he saw the elf drop a cigarette butt on the ground and putting it out with the heel of her boot.

He watched in amazement as she shook out another stick with one hand from a nearly empty box of smokes and pulled it out with her lips before drawing a lighter from her top to light it. The elf took a long drag before blowing it away from his face, letting the wind wash away the fumes.

Elsword peaked behind her. A stack of cigarette butts lay in a mess by the tree she was sitting at.

"W… what are you doing?" he muttered.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Rena responded rather harshly. She was completely different now. The kind, caring person that was in the inn with them was no more as this… stranger stood before him with eyes that threatened to gut him.

"I… I didn't know you smoked."

"Really? I couldn't tell by the look on your face. Yeah. I smoke. So what of it?"

"I… uh… no-nothing! It's… your choice I just didn't picture you as much of a…"

"Do you think it's easy for me dealing with you and Aisha? The constant bickering that I have to shout over just to get you two's attention? Honestly I think I've started growing grey hairs. And that's saying something for an elf only a couple thousand years old."

"Why were you keeping this a secret…?"

Rena shrugged, "It started off more as a common courtesy. I didn't want you humans getting sick from it. Though eventually I just decided to keep it a secret in general. Plus it was a good way of ignoring you two for an excess of five minutes." She pulled the boy close, bearing her teeth at him, "And if you tell anyone about what you found out tonight…"

Elsword flailed in her grasp, "I get it! I get it! Your secrets safe with me!"

She tossed him on the ground and he landed in a heavy grunt.

"Elsword!" Aisha called from the tunnel. "Did you find her yet?"

The boy looked at Rena who tapped the cigarette lightly with a flick of her thumb. Like putting on a mask, a smile covered her face and suddenly the old Rena he knew had returned.

"Y-yeah…" Elsword replied. "She's right here! She'll be back in a moment." The boy got on his feet and made his way to the tunnel to meet up with the mage. He glanced back at the elf who waved at him with that same motherly look she always had yet for an instant her eyes shifted to that of absolute death and he gulped heavily before turning back to meet the other girl.

"What was she up to? Is she okay?" Aisha was heard asking as the boy drew her away from the entrance and back towards the city.

"Yeah... she was just... using the bathroom! Diarrhea! Yeah."

"Gross!"

The elf sighed, shaking her head as she took another long drag of the cigarette, burning half of it in one go before flicking the rest aside. "Kids," she grumbled, flipping her hair about to get rid of the smell before making her way back into the tunnels after them.

* * *

 **A/N: A crackfic written for fun for a group writing prompt: Addiction. This story is in no way canon to the Elsword Universe.**


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